Jerusalem Season of Culture events postponed

Organization behind events went through long process of debate, discussion before coming to conclusion to postpone performances.

Jerusalem skyline 370 .
(photo credit:Marc Israel Sellem)

The performances and artistic spectacles of the annual Jerusalem Season of Culture are being postponed due to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

The organization behind the events went through a long process of debate and discussion before coming to the conclusion to postpone performances. Season of Culture CEO Namo Fortis said it took six days for the group to make a decision.

“We had to look deep inside ourselves as leaders and artists,” she said. “We asked ourselves about our responsibility and it became very clear that we needed to react to the violence around us.”

Fortis said that the Season of Culture looked at different elements when figuring out how to respond to the conflict in Israel.

“First, we do not promote, market, perform, or premiere, during a time of war,” she said. “Of course, we are ready to turn on the lights, but this is our reaction to the current conflict as leaders in the art world.”

Fortis said that postponing the Season of Culture is a form of artistic expression in itself.

“There is a lot of pain and destruction right now,” she said. “We want to react.”

While the situation in Gaza is very difficult for all, Fortis said hearing other voices can be a great help for developing the Jerusalem Season of Culture as a whole in the future.

“Logistically speaking, this is really complicated,” she said. “I do appreciate other opinions from other organizations as well as long as we are not operating in an automatic way with every decision.”

All ticket-holders will receive a full refund and be given top priority if they want reservations to the rescheduled events.